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In Jailing Clinton, Trump Would Have Company Among World Leaders

October 11, 2016 2:36 AM

VOA News

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump points at Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton as he speaks during the second presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis, Oct. 9, 2016.

If Republican Party presidential candidate Donald Trump were elected and carried out his promise to investigate and jail his political opponent, Hillary Clinton, he would be among a number of heads of state or government who used judicial power to go after political opponents. Here are some of the leaders who have jailed political opponents while in power:

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi: Led the 2013 overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi and jailed many leaders from his outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, including Morsi himself.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro: Opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez is serving a 14-year sentence for inciting an anti-government protest in 2014 that left 43 people dead.

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe: In 2007, authorities arrested opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai at a rally and later beat him. Several years earlier he was twice charged with treason, once for an alleged plot to kill Mugabe and a second time in connection to opposition protests.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni: Opponent Kizza Besigye was arrested several times in the run-up to the country's February 18 election, and after the vote was placed under house arrest.

Zambia's President Edgar Lungu: Opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema and others were arrested last week on charges of sedition after they disputed the results of Lungu's August re-election.

Myanmar's former longtime ruling junta: Current de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi spent more than 20 years under house arrest for charges widely seen as politically motivated.

Russian President Vladimir Putin: Former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky spent a decade in prison for tax evasion in a case widely believed to be political and came after he funded opposition parties.

Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych: Opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko was jailed in 2011 because of allegations she failed to consult with her government when she served as prime minister and signed a deal that ended a Russian cutoff of natural gas to Ukraine.

Chilean President Gen. Augusto Pinochet: Seized power in a bloody military coup in 1973. During his rule thousands of political opponents were executed or disappeared, detained, tortured or exiled.